SIR GEOFF HURST urged England’s kids to end 51 years of hurt by winning the Under-20 World Cup.
The 1966 hat-trick hero has been waiting for a Three Lions team to emulate the achievements of Sir Alf Ramsey’s heroes.
Now he believes Paul Simpson’s youngsters can beat Venezuela in South Korea’s Suwan Stadium tomorrow and finally put England back on top of the world.
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The ex-West Ham idol has been following the progress of the lion cubs and tweeted: “Good luck to the U20s in the World Cup final on Sunday. Let’s repeat our success of ’66.”
No England mens’ team has reached a World Cup final since Hurst’s hat-trick helped beat West Germany 4-2 at Wembley.
Striker Dominic Solanke has scored four times to help England past Argentina, Guinea, South Korea, Costa Rica, Mexico and Italy – including a brace in Thursday’s 3-1 semi-final win over the Italians.
And he is convinced the pain of losing to Italy in the semi-finals of last year’s Under-19 tournament can spur them to go all the way this time.
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Solanke, who has signed for Liverpool after running down his Chelsea contract, said: “When we were a goal down at half-time to Italy the other day, we clearly remembered the disappointment and frustration of our elimination from last year’s championship.
“We really believed we could win it this time and never gave up even though we were a goal down. And I think that determination was the key.
“The squad has been strengthened by the players who have moved up from last year’s Under-17 Championships and now we’re looking at nothing short of winning this trophy.”
Spurs winger Josh Onomah is available after missing the semi-final through suspension, leaving boss Simpson with a selection headache.
Mystery Watford striker Adalberto Penaranda, 20, meanwhile, will be out to win it for the South Americans.
He broke Lionel Messi’s scoring record during a loan spell at Granada last year when he netted two against Levante to become the youngest foreign player to score in La Liga.
In April 2015, he was fortunate to walk away from an armed robbery attempt when a bullet passed straight through his left thigh.
Hornets fans can be forgiven for forgetting about Penaranda as he has yet to feature 18 months after signing in a £7million deal from Udinese and still does not qualify for a work permit.